Related Stories

EDMONTON - Young pledges hoping to join a University of Alberta fraternity were made to eat their own vomit, locked in a plywood box and deprived of sleep.

Those are the disturbing allegation against the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity -- whose members are also knows as Dekes. It's an organization U of A students say has a reputation on campus for attracting those who like to party hard.

No one answered the door of the fraternity house or answered the phone Thursday to respond to the hazing allegations.

The incidents are alleged to have taken place in January 2009 at the group's well-kept, two-storey fraternity house and at other locations during what's described as the chapter's initiation weekend.

Much of it was caught on video, causing a stir this week when graphic details were reported in The Gateway, the U of A's student newspaper.

Alexandria Eldridge, the writer who viewed hours of video, said among other things, she saw a pledge being yelled at by five or more fraternity members during a check-in because he brought two small cans of beans, rather than one large one.

"Do you have a learning disability? Are you retarded?" were among the insults hurled at the man, according to the newspaper report.

There was also footage of pledges forced to eat raw eggs, says the report. While this happened, one fraternity brother reportedly said "go salmonella."

Later, at a diner at another location, pledges were made to eat off-putting meals then smoke cigars quickly in an attempt to make them throw up, according to the article. Some pledges had to eat their vomit, the allegations state.

Over the initiation weekend, pledges were also asked to go into a large plywood box for up to 15 minutes. It was called "the Hilton," said Eldridge.

Up to 15 would go in at a time, says the report, though up to 30 men could squeeze into the box, which wasn't large enough to stand up in, said Eldridge.

Sometimes, someone would urinate into the box before people were allowed in, says the report.

The Gateway reports pledges were allowed only minimal sleep time. That included a half-an-hour on the Friday night. The following night, they were allowed to take five, 15-minute naps and one half-hour nap.

Eldridge said newspaper staff have received legal advice not to release the video, to protect the confidentiality of the source.